Plug for cementing wells



Sept. 8, 1931. 5, 0 1,822 ;193 I PLUG FOR GEMENTINd' WELLS Filed March 18. 1929 2 Sheets-Shet 1 5 1i} 6 7 I i C D 2/ 8 7 Q /Z INVENTOR SIDNEY OI-QFIQTQM-I 7?- ATTORNEY Sept. 8', 1931.

s. o. BARTON PLUG FOR CEMENTING .WELLS Filed March 18. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 was ' INVENTOR S/0/VEY O-5/7RTO/V- BY MML KM ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 8, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SIDNEY O. BARTON, OF LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO PACIFIC OIL WELL CEMENTING COMPANY, INCORPORATED, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORA- TION OF CALIFORNIA PLUG FOR CEMENTING WELLS Application filed March 18, 1929. Serial No. 348,074.

is employed as a means of keeping the hole open and as a conveyor of the .oil and gas to the surface. A well-known method of excluding water from the oil and gas bearing formations consists in filling the space 10 between the walls of the. drill hole and the casing with a suitable cement grout, such as Portland cement, which may or may not be mixed with a re-agent to regulate the setting time of the cement.

15 Before the cementing operation the hole is usually drilled to a point below all waterbearing, formations and into a formation which is impervious to water, such as shale or the like, in order that a water tight bond may be established between the shale or other formations impervious to water, and the casing which is lowered to a predetermined point'within a few feetof the bottom of the drill hole.

The common method now employed for cementing oil wells to establish a watertight bond below all water bearing formations between the casing and the drill hole, is generally known as the Perkins and Double method, in which a mud or water circulation is first established down through the casing and up through the space outside the casing until the mud or water overflows at the top. This mud or water circulation operation is employed to clean the space between the casing and the drill hole. After the space between the casing and the drill hole has been cleaned by the mud or water circulation operation, a barrier consisting of a solid wooden plug with two flat circular pieces of fabric attached thereto, is inserted into the casing from the top. The calculated amount of cement grout is then pumped into I the casing from the top or side under pump rier down the casing. As soon as the required calculated quantity-of cement grout has been introduced, a second wooden plug fitted with a leather cupped gasket and a fabric disc, is inserted into the casing, and

pressure sufficient to force the plug or barthe plugs, together with the charge of cement grout, are forced to the bottom of the drill'hole by hydraulic pressure employing water or mud, the cement grout passing out the side or out through openings in the bottom plug and upward around the casing to the required height.

4 At times, much trouble is experienced with the wooden plugs employed for the aforesaid purpose on account of lack of rigidity and strength and the leather gaskets niay become disrupted or broken, whereby a fluidtight contact between the casing and the plug may not be maintained during the passing of the plug to the bottom of the drill hole, in which case the cement grout may become mixed with mud or water, and the desired water-tight bond between the casing and the drill hole may not be obtained, thereby requiring another cementation.

. Now, I have discovered that these difliculties can be overcome by the employment of a rigid metal plug preferably spoolshaped and containing two flexible cupped leather or fabric gaskets so arranged that when the plug is forced down the casing by hydraulic pressure, the cupped ring of the top gasket is forced outward against the well casing, thereby making a fluid-tight contact during the passage of the plug to the bottom of the well casing. The lower cupped gasket acts as a safe-guard so that in case the top cupped gasket fails to maintain the necessary liquid-tight seal due to rupture or other cause during the passage of the plug to the bottom of the well casing, the hydraulic pressure will be transmitted to the lower cupped gasket sufficiently to force the cupped ring of that gasket against the well casing to make a fluid-tight contact 352, filed June 6, 1928, Apparatus for cementing Wells.

This metal plug, or hydraulic ram, may

be shaped in various ways as for example, it may be a solid, or partly hollow, cylindrical, metal body. However, I prefer a spool-shaped metal body with four ribbed re-inforcement members between the upper and lower disc bases as shown in the drawmg.

The metal employed to make the plugs may be any metal or alloy of metals which can be cut or broken into small pieces by the ordinary drilling tools employed in the drilling of oil wells, such for example, as aluminum, cast iron, aluminum copper al-. loys, and the like. Preferably, however, I prefer the metal body of the plug to be composed of an aluminum alloy having approximately the following composition:

Per cent Aluminum Copper 4 Magnesium 5 Manganese 5 An object of the invention is to provide a metal plug or hydraulic ram with cupped leather or fabric gasket means, to force fluids down a metal casing and one which is substantially infallible in its purpose, rapid andeconomical in its application.

The preferred form of the metal plug or hydraulic ram comprises two pistons and a spool shaped base distance piece between the pistons with an eye coupling on the top and means adapted for holding the cupped leather or fabric gaskets by clamping them between keepers and the bases of the distance plece.

Although the plug or hydraulic ram may comprise a series of pistons, only two are shown in the accompanying drawings.

With the foregoing preliminary explanation, the preferred embodiment of my invention will now be more fully explained by reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of the plug or hydraulic ram completely assembled.

Figure 2 represents a sectional elevation thereof.

Figure 3 represents a plan view of the upper keeper which clamps the upper cupped gasket to the upper base of the distance piece.

Figure 4 represents a plan view of the spool shaped metal body or the distance piece.

Figure 5 represents a lower end View of the lower keeper which clamps the lower cupped gasket to the-lower base of the distance piece.

Figure 6 represents a plan view of the cupped leather or fabric gasket.

In the drawings the same reference characters indicate corresponding parts 1n the different figures.

In the form of embodiment herein illustrated by the drawings, the plug or hydraulic ram comprises an upper piston, a lower piston and a base distance piece between said pistons.

A keeper A is positioned inside the upper cupped gasket E, in contact with bottom 20 of the gasket 2 and is clamped firmly to the top of disc 9 by means of bolts F, passing through holes 5, 22 and 25.

A is preferably a casting made of aluminum or an alloy of aluminum and in the form shown comprises a fiat annular disc 1 with a turned up outer edge 2. Centrally mounted, on top is an eye ring 3 for tackling purposes and on the bottom a boss 4: for keeping purposes fitting into the annular opening 8.

B is a keeper preferably a casting made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy and in the form shown comprises a fiat annular disc 11 with a turned down outer edge 12. Centrally mounted on the lower side is a boss 13 with stiffening ribs 14 which run to edge 12, and on the upper side is a keeper boss 16 fitting into annular opening 8.

B is adapted to lay outside of lower cupped packing D its lower side in contact with the cement grout and its upper side in contact with bottom 17 which clamps it firmly to disc 10 by means of bolts G admitted through holes 15, 19 and 24.

The base distance piece C is adapted to hold the upper and lower pistons apart at a suitable distance.

C is also preferably made of aluminum or an alloy of aluminum and in the form shown'comprises a central annular column 7 with an annular hollow 8 carrying on its upper end an annular fiat disc 9 adapted to form a base plate for the cupped leather or fabric gasket E and for the upper keep er A which is held in place by bolts F. The bolts F pass through holes 25, 22 and 5. The lower end of column 7 has an annular disc 10 which fits into the lower cupped leather or fabric gasket D forming a base plate for the bottom 17 of the gasket D and for the lower keeper disc B which is kept in place by bolts G passing through holes 24, 19 and 15. The base plates 9 and 10 and column 7 are joined by longitudinal ribs 6 reinforcing the base distance piece for the pistons.

The cupped leather or fabric gasket E is adapted to serve as packing between the well casing walls and the plug employed to force the cement grout to the bottom of the well casing.

E is preferably made of leather or fabric and in the form shown comprises an annular fiat disc bottom 20 having its outer edge 21 turned upward thus forming a suitable contact surface with the casing wall to insure a perfectly tight piston joint for the prevention of hydraulic fluid passing down into the cement grout column below either piston of the plug.

The bottom 20 of the on ped gasket E is clamped between keeper and distance piece C and contains holes 22 for admittance of bolts F and a central opening 23 for admittance of keeper boss 4.

In a similar manner the cupped gasket D is adapted to serve as a packing for the lower piston.

D is also preferably made of leather and has a shape similar to E. Bottom 17 of the gasketD is provided with holes 19 for bolts G which clamp the gasket D between keeper B and distance piece C. 18 is a hole for keeper boss 16.

WVhile the apparatus herein described is well adapted for carrying out the object of the present invention, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may, be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and the invention includes all such changes and modifications as appear within the scope of the appended claims. 7

What I claim is:

1. In an apparatus for cementing wells, an assembled spool shape frangible metal plug having spaced cup packings and an intermediate perforated ribbed reinforcement member, said ribbed member having at its top an interior disk intergral with the ribbed member, an outer disk having an eye on one side and a plug to fit the perforation in said member on the other side of the disk and means to fasten the disks and packings together.

2. A plug for cementingwells comprising an intermediate spool shaped distance piece perforated through the middle and having disks at either end, packing means and keepers for holding the packing means to the disks, one of said keepers having a centrally located eye on its top side and a lug projecting through the packing into the middle perforation in the spool shaped portion.

ture.

SIDNEY o. BARTON.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signa- I 

